Ssrathi
Buildings Sun Temple The Sun Temple is the Ssrathi's headquarters building. It can convert within a large radius and is upgradable. Each upgrade increases the amount of units the player can have. It also allows new constructions, units and researches. The largest differential feature with the other HQ buildings is the ability for it to spit out great numbers of fireballs upon using the 'Wrath of Coatl' skill. It can also change the weather to day using the 'Rite of Dawn' skill. Worker Sect This building produces the Ssrathi's builder units. It may also upgrade them to be highly resistant to missiles, build faster and be able to cast Invisibility. Warrior Sect The Warrior Sect allows the Ssrathi to produce both Snakemen and Lizard Riders. Lizard Riders require a Hatchery to produce. This building provides essential basic army creation, especially towards the start of the game. Saurus Pen The Saurus Pen provides upgrades to Dinosaurs and Lizard Riders. Leaving the Ssrathi to construct this building and upgrade their Dinosaurs may instigate an end game similar to the Fey's Orb of Wonder. Scrying Pool The Scrying Pool allows the Ssrathi to see steadily further into the fog of war, eventually removing it altogether. Religious Sect The Religious Sect can produce Snakepriests and Nagas. Sacred Pool The Sacred Pool provides upgrades to Mana income and Snakepriest range. Hatchery Allows the Lizard Rider and creates the two land Dinosaurs. Nest Units Chameleon - Ssrathi Builder The Chameleon is the builder of the Ssrathi. It has very limited combat ability. It can, however, be upgraded to be very resistant to missile attacks, build faster and be able to turn invisible, useful for infiltration, avoiding or escaping enemies. Snakeman - Ssrathi Basic Infantry The Snakeman is the Ssrathi's basic infantry unit. Its outstanding points are its relatively large amount of hits, damage and slashing resistance. Like many other tier 1 units, it is somewhat weak, even in large numbers. Its price is high to compensate for its increased combat capabilities over other tier 1 units, including its poisonous attack. Snakepriest - Ssrathi Spellcaster Snakepriests are one of the most powerful Ssrathi units available. At first, they are nothing more than support units, their range is low and they can only destroy buildings with support, but as they are upgraded at the Sacred Pool building, they gain immense range upgrades (and mana regeneration) and become wrecking balls, capable of felling bases in mere minutes. Lizard Rider - Ssrathi Cavalry Lizard Riders are extremely fast cavalry units, able to dart in and out of combat with ease. Lizard Riders provide the one thing that most un-upgraded Ssrathi units lack: Speed. As such, they can perform hit and run and flanking tactics, commonly to create a large diversion (or cover) for the Snakepriests to burn the enemy to dust. Triceratops - Ssrathi Dinosaur Triceratops are mid-game tanks. They have a large amount of hits and an average amount of armor. Their resistance, damage type and even army points, on the other hand is poor. This makes it difficult for them to assault bases, so it is best to use them to soak up damage for other more important or frail units. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Elite Ssrathi Dinosaur Tyrannosaurus Rexes are the powerhouses of the Ssrathi. They make up for the weaknesses in the Triceratops, having a massive amount of hits, average armor but good resistance. Similarly to the Snakepriests though, Tyrannosaurus Rexes are slow and must be upgraded to turn the unit into a complete sledgehammer. Once this thing is upgraded at the Saurus Pen, it will have good speed and truly excellent damage. The combination with this and the Dragon Master skill from the Dragonslayer skill tree makes this creature around the strength of a Minotaur King, even overtaking it in some stats. Naga - Ssrathi General The Ssrathi general has its perks and its downsides, like most other units. Whilst it has respectable defences (especially for a ranged unit), it has a crippling vulnerability to common slashing damage. Still, its almost certainty to deal at least 20 damage to most units, the ability to walk over water (the only unit in the game that is able to, the others fly or levitate) and its armor boosting spell make it a great support unit. Iriki - Ssrathi Titan The Ssrathi titan can burn down entire bases almost single-handedly. Iriki has an immense range, even more than the upgraded Snakepriests, and has many times the damage and combat. Essentially, the greatest servant of the sun god Couatl acts like an uber Snakepriest, and like any titan, is extremely formidable and dangerous. However, as Iriki deals fire damage, almost all dragons are able to resist him and may proceed to devastate Iriki. Strategy Overall: The Ssrathi are one of the most effective races in Warlords Battlecry 3, particularly so given the changes in the unofficial patch 1.0324, which improved their previously undesirable hero class combinations. The Race Units: Chameleons are both decent scouts (as improved with building skills) and minefillers. Snakemen do an acceptable job of providing early defense and exploration, though they suffer against units not susceptible to poison such as machines and undead. The real strength of the Ssrathi lies in their Snakepriests and Lizard Riders. The importance of combining these two units cannot be overstated. Both are available relatively early in the battle (keep level 2 and 3, respectively), and benefit from offset resource requirements. (Snakepriests require Gold and Crystal, Lizard Riders require Metal and Stone) This allows a flood of both to be produced simultaneously. Once the Snakepriests have their range improved by building skills, they essentially become a writhing mass of self-healing siege engines capable of engaging enemy towers from a safe distance. This is important as the Ssrathi have no siege engine unit such as catapults or battering rams. They would still be vulnerable to horde attacks, however, if not supported by Lizard Riders. Lizard Riders (the fastest unit in the game) are excellent for chasing down fleeing enemy heroes, protecting a line of Snakepriests, and dismantling a base stripped of its tower defenses. There are few obstacles in the game that effectively counter a mass of Snakepriests and Lizard Riders. This is fortunate for the Ssrathi, because beyond Snakepriests and Lizard Riders, their units are somewhat disappointing. Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus Rex are both powerful, but their low speed and long build times limit their usefulness. Ssrathi flying units are equally weak, as Pterodactyls cannot engage ground targets. (though they can deal with undefended buildings efficiently) Nagas are among the worst generals in the game, though their Shield spell redeems them somewhat by improving the survivability of a group of Snakepriests and Lizard Riders. Buildings: Ssrathi buildings are some of the best in the game. By having dedicated buildings for support, melee, and ranged units, players can sustain a continuous flow of all three (Chameleons, Lizard Riders, and Snakepriests). The Couatl's Wrath spell is an effective panic button for defending your keep, should your base be overrun by an opponent. The ability of towers to poison enemy heroes that wander too close is a nice perk as well. Heroes The recommended hero/class combination for the Ssrathi is Dragonslayer (for unofficial patch 1.0324). The ability to raise the starting XP of your dinosaur units has a dramatic effect, particularly at 10XP or higher. For those playing the last official patch (1.03) consider a Lichelord or Thief to take advantage of synergies in Poison Magic and Running. Neither is particularly great, as the Poison Sphere is one of the less effective schools of magic, but a high Running score is very effective for both chasing down enemy heroes and escaping unexpected attacks. Counters *The majority of Ssrathi's early units (Chameleon, Snakeman and Snakepriest) are vulnerable to cold damage. *The Tier 2 Nest unit (the Pterodactyl) cannot attack ground units. *Most dinosaur units take a long time to build. *The Dwarves can give the Ssrathi a run for their money - a great deal of their units (Dwarf Infantry, Crossbowmen, Lord, Runner, Smith, Khazrimi Guard, Runelord and even King Khalid) are resistant to the fire attacks of the Snakepriest and resistant to the physical attacks of the other units (Berserker). *The Dark Dwarves can outrange the Snakepriests greatly with many siege weapons, nearly all units are immune to the poison affliction and many of the units are resistant to the piercing damage of the cavalry (Stone Golem, Bronze Golem, all the siege weapons but the Hellbore). Additionally, the weakness of the lower tier units are easily exploited by the Dark Dwarves' access to Wraiths and Shadows, which are resistant to the Snakepriest's fire damage and can deal cold damage. Hero Stats Ssrathi Lore 'The Ssrathi are group of reptilian humanoid creatures from the southern jungles of Keshan. Keshan is a tropical land - warm and wet - where gold is almost as plentiful as water. They live in small tribes, each ruled by a Shaman and guarded by a protective snake-spirit called a Naga. Ssrathi are cold-blooded and so they worship Couatl the Sun God, who provides the warmth that they need to move around. The largest Ssrathi tribe lives in a huge citadel called Kalpaxotl, which translates to "Jewel of the Sun". At the center of this citadel rises a magnificent temple to Couatl. Lord Iriki, an ancient and powerful Ssrathi Shaman whom even the gods rightly fear, rules this temple.' - http://www.enlight.com/wbc3/gameinfo_races.htm#3